Students part with a 'pal'

Popular principal retires from school

WILLOW SPRING -- At the very least, Willow Springs Elementary School Principal Charles Langley can say he's as smart as the fifth-graders he's overseen for the past 14 years.

The popular longtime principal ended his career Thursday at a surprise assembly in the school's gym. Hundreds of students cheered Langley, 61, to retirement with their version of the TV show "Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?"

"We love you," said Assistant Principal Camille Miller, who will become the new principal. "But before you go, we have to find out if you're smarter than a fifth-grader."

Admittedly, TV host Jeff Foxworthy doesn't let contestants call teachers for help. He also doesn't drop answers on the floor for the student panelists to pick up and throw out in trash cans within eyesight of the contestants.

But Langley held his own, showing he knows the names of all seven continents, the number of bones in the human body and what happens when you mix yellow and blue.

"When I retire, I'll start my way back in first-grade and work my way through elementary school," Langley told the audience.

By the time students had finished presenting their gifts and singing their going-away songs, there wasn't a dry eye in the gym.

"When I came to Willow Springs a long time ago, someone asked me what the transition was like going from middle school to elementary school," Langley told the students. "My answer was, 'I had gone to heaven.' Today, I know that's where I've gone."

Students rushed up to hug him one final time like they have every morning as he has greeted them in the school's lobby.

"When I was in school, I didn't want to hug my principal," said Marylou Stanley, whose daughter, Paige, is a first-grader. "But the kids all rush up to him."

Jason Schumann wanted to shake Langley's hand. The fifth-grader was one of the panelists for the game show.

"I hope he has a good time in retirement," Jason, 10, said. "It's going to be sad to leave him."

Langley is one of a declining number of older principals in the district. Many have retired in the past few years. Of the current principals in Wake, none has been at the same school longer than Langley.

Langley presided over a school that has seen test scores rise from 70.6 percent of students passing state tests in 1997 to 85.3 percent last year. The school has also enjoyed high teacher satisfaction ratings on state surveys.

"I'm thankful for who's going to replace him," said Amy Prairie, the school's instructional resource teacher. "But we're going to miss him. It's been a fun ride."

This school year, Langley helped oversee Willow Springs' conversion to a year-round calendar. It's part of the reason he chose to retire now and spend more time with his children and grandchildren.

Langley said it was too difficult finding time to take an extended break on a year-round calendar, where students are in class nearly every week.

"Year-round wasn't the only reason, but it played a major factor in my decision to retire," he said.